The Team Moto journey
Dave Ahmet, CEO and co-founder of Team Moto, hasn’t looked back since he bought his first motorcycle business at the youthful age of 23. Paying 21% interest on the loan during the 1980s, Dave recalls, “it was a tough time to start your first business”.
He remembers that the challenges he faced during the 1989 recession taught him valuable business lessons, which he used to his advantage during the global financial crisis. Two years later he bought another business, and another the year after that. With motorcycle sales booming in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the business continued to grow quickly.
Quickly getting up to speed
Dave believes it is the rigorous approach to establishing and refining systems and processes that has seen each acquired business grow at over 20% per year. When underperforming dealerships are integrated into the group they are transformed through a proven management, operations and training roadmap.
Vital to this approach is the role of the local dealer principals, who are given autonomy to run each dealership as their own business, but with support to drive best practice learnings. This consistency, along with a deliberate strategy to focus on second hand bike sales, has positioned Team Moto for consistent growth.
Focusing on the road ahead
After Dave’s partner decided he wanted to exit the business, an introduction was made to The Growth Fund, which partnered alongside Dave to continue to drive the next phase in the business’ growth – both organically and through acquisition.
Today, Team Moto continues to buy businesses to grow the network and to diversify into complimentary areas like rider training and smash repairs. As the largest dealership operator in Australia, the business sells brands from Yamaha to Harley Davidson, with dealerships across Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.